Mass Effect: The Whole Gang
by Sobansa
Summary: What if Shepard actually lead the whole squad?
1. Chapter 1

Mass Effect: The Whole Story

Disclaimer: This piece of fan fiction is an exploration of what would happen if you removed the only two squad member's mechanic. It follows my play though of the game fairly closely so that means mostly paragon.

Prologue: The Choice

"So we've narrowed it down to three Walker, Fletcher, and Shepard. " Admiral Hackett said. Passing the folders to Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson, and to the Spectre Nhilus. They opened the folders and began to read them. "Walker is an Earthborn Marine that was raised on the streets. He learned to look out for himself. His record is exemplary. He has never failed an assignment." Hackett said.

"He also got most of his unit killed on Torfan." Anderson noted.

"He gets the job done. No matter what the cost." Udina said. "I can like a man like that."

"He is also talented with Electronics in addition to his N7 qualifications." Hackett said.

"What about Fletcher?" Nhilus asked.

"Fletcher grew up on the colonies. When he was sixteen slavers killed his whole family. When the patrol got there, he was the only survivor. Joined the military a few years later." Hackett said.

"However, he also lost his whole unit to a thresher maw attack on Akuze. He could have some serious emotional scars." Udina said, sounding concerned.

"He's also the most powerful biotic I've ever met. Not just in raw power but also in finesse." Anderson said.

Nhilus nodded, "I like Shepard though. When we started this process, I had my eye on her. Her parents are both military and she joined when she was eighteen. So she knows how to take orders. She also almost singlehandedly repelled an attack by slavers on Elysium." He spoke up

"I like Shepard as well. She's the best leader I've ever met." Hackett said.

"I've worked with her. She's the best shot in the entire N7 program. I'd choose any of these three to be a specter, but Shepard blows the other two out of the water." Anderson mentioned.

"She's also good on a camera. The scar only serves to mark that she really does what she talks about." Udina added.

"I think we are agreed then. Shepard is our first choice." Everyone else nodded. "I'll make the call."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one: Eden prime

Part one: Arrival

Two Months Later…

Shepard inspected her armor one more time. The rest of the marine team was preparing was well. There was Alenko a biotic specialist, Navarro a medic, Franklin a Demolitions expert, Lee an expert hacker, Marshal a sniper, and Jenkins the new guy. She had handpicked them all, she had chosen Jenkins after she had been forced to give up Sergeant Zim after their last mission. Chakwas was helping Navarro with the medical kits.

Jenkins was excited. "I grew up on Eden Prime doc. It's not the kind of place Specters would visit. There's something that Nihlus is not telling us about our mission."

"That's crazy the Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a spectre." Marshal scoffed. Marshal was a tall man and thin. He had a massive crop of flaming red hair on his head. He also had a way of suddenly appearing behind you. He was from earth; his father had been a famer in the Midwest. He had honed his sharp shooting skills on wildlife and when he went to basic had been an obvious choice for special operations. Shepard had managed to snag him from Anderson's team when Anderson went over to the starship command side of things.

"Not his choice. Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way." Jenkins persisted.

Franklin shook his head. He was the sergeant now, and the oldest of them. He had grown up in the marines. His father had been a marine and his mother a school teacher. He had signed up and went into EOD. After Sheppard had seen him in action, disarming a bomb calm as could be while heavy fire was direct at him. After the bomb had been disarmed he had fought alongside her with amazing skill. She had seen to it that he had gotten into special operations. "Naw, I think you've seen too many spy videos." He said.

"I don't know. Let's face it. There are problems can't be solved by conventional means, Zanethu anyone? It would not surprise me that the citadel has trouble shooters who act outside the bounds. Killing people who get in the way is a part of the job description." Lee said. Lee was a beautiful Asian hacker. Although, just being a hacker was the least of her skills. She was freakishly good at fixing things. She had joined the Navy and was the weakest in a straight fight of all of them. Her standard accuracy rating was only a 95. Barely above the cut off for special operations. However, she more than made up for it with her ability to put things together. She was from Japan and had joined the navy only at the dying request of her grandfather who had fought at Shanxi. However, she had come to love what she did. Shepard had stolen her from Fletcher after Fletcher lost a bet with Shepard.

Everyone except Jenkins nodded at this comment by Lee. Jenkins looked confused, it had been a mission before he joined the team. "What do you think commander? We won't be staying on eden prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action." Jenkins asked Shepard.

Both Chakwas and Navarro turned and looked at Jenkins. Chakwas was faster than the laconic Navarro. "I sincerely hope your joking Corporal. Your real action usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary."

Shepard took that moment to snap the last piece back into place. "You do need to calm down Jenkins. A good soldier stays calm, even under fire." She said. Jenkins was new, he would learn with time. He wore the beret that his father had given him. His father was the founder of Master Weapons that made some of the highest quality guns in existence. His father had fought at Shanxi as a private. He had retired to Eden Prime after Jenkins was born. Jenkins had been raised on Eden Prime.

"Sorry, Commander. But this waiting is killing me. I've never been on a mission before. Not one with a Spectre Onboard!" Shepard could see the amusement on several faces. They had all gone through a stage like this. Eager for action and ready for anything. Now, they did their job. It did not matter who was here at the same time.

"Just treat this like every other assignment you've had and everything will work out." Shepard said. Hoping to get some sense into the kid's head.

"Easy for you to say, you proved yourself during the blitz. Everyone knows what you can do. This is my big chance I need to show them what I can do!"

Navarro sighed, he was a short man. Barely made the height requirement, however, he was broad and strong. His mother had been a single mother and an emergency room doctor. That meant that he had spent a lot of time learning medicine. When he joined the marines, his medical skills combined with his excellent scores in training had marked him for Special Forces. "Captain Anderson got his medals by accident."

Jenkins looked confused. He was still young. Shepard explained, "Jenkins, if you go hunting medals instead of our objective you're going to have a mighty sad-looking form Thirty-One." Shepard said. "When we look for good solder, we look for ones that can get the job done. If you buck for a medal, you're going to screw everything up."

Jenkins nodded, "Don't worry ma'am. I'm not going to screw this up."

"Five minutes from drop point one." Joker said and Sheppard stood, picking up the assault rifle. She checked her men. They were all ready. She motioned for them to gather around the weapons table. She opened a holographic map.

"I'll be honest. We don't know what we're going into. We need to extract the beacon, helping survivors will be a secondary priority. Jenkins, when we hit the ground, you're on point. You know the area the best. We're headed to the dig site here." She pointed at a point on the map. She then moved her finger to another point. "We'll be inserting here. Speed is of the essence. So we'll be moving in a double column. Jenkins is on point. I want him to be followed by Marshal and Franklin. I'll be in the middle with Alenko, Navarro, and Lee behind me." She explained.

"When we arrive at the site, Lee and I will determine how to move the beacon. Everyone else will form a perimeter. Once we've determined the way to extract it we will make our way to the extraction point, here. If that one is not possible, there is a secondary extraction point here. Any questions?"


End file.
